Thursday, May 03, 2012

It's official. Terry's Place has a new address. Please bookmark the new site. http://terryodell.com/terrysplace. To celebrate, I'm going to have a new contest with a Really Big Prize. Details will be announced over there in the very near future.
Posts on this blog will stay here, but I hope you'll visit my new site and subscribe to posts over there.

Tuesday, May 01, 2012

First, thanks to Bailey for yesterday's post. I remember Maypole dancing when I was in grade school.

After over four years here, Terry's Place is moving. Although I'd been thinking about it for some time, the recent lack of support and customer service from Blogger has lit a fire under the move. I hope you'll bookmark my new site, and continue to follow. Because I'm moving sooner than I'd planned, the new site is still in transition, and as I learn more about the features, I'll add them. Feel free to make suggestions.

Some things I'm looking forward for: threaded comments, so we can carry out some discussions in the comments. Also, leaving a comment will require that you give an email address. I PROMISE that these will NEVER be shared. But what it will mean is that I'll have an easier way to let you know when you've won a contest. (For those of you who have left comments on yesterdays posts, I'll be posting Bailey's winner on Saturday at the new site. Her post is echoed over there as well.) Remember, you have until Friday to comment to enter.

Also, if anyone here is conversant in WordPress and wants to suggest widgets or plugins (I've learned some new terminology), feel free to give a shout out! I know Google Friend Connect isn't available for non-Blogger sites, but I hope you'll add the new site to however you follow blogs.

And, my new site will continue to do everything I've done here. That means that because it's Wednesday, there's a recipe, thanks to frequent contributor here, Karen C. To celebrate the first official blog, it's strawberry shortcake cookies!

Head over there now, and say hello. Here's the link: http://terryodell.com/terrysplace. And this site will remain available, so you won't lose any links or posts you've bookmarked.

Bailey Cates writes the Magical Bakery Mysteries. The first in the series, Brownies and Broomsticks, releases today in mass market paperback and ebook formats from NAL/Penguin. She also writes the Home Crafting Mystery Series as Cricket McRae. The sixth in that series, Deadly Row to Hoe, will release in November from Midnight Ink/Llewellyn. There's a giveaway, so be sure to leave a comment. And check back this weekend to see if you won.

Thanks for inviting me to guest here at Terry’s Place! I’m delighted to stop by, especially as today is Beltane, or May Day, which I’ve decided is a rather auspicious release date for my first paranormal cozy mystery.

When I was a little girl we made up little paper “vases” and filled them with spring flowers early in the morning on the first of May. Then I went around the neighborhood and hung them on all the doorknobs. I loved this annual event, but had no idea what May Day was supposed to be about beyond surreptitious flower deliveries. Since writing about a hedge witch – or green witch – I’ve learned a lot more about this holiday.

May 1st, or May Day, falls halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. Like Samhain (Halloween), it’s supposed to be a time when the veils of the two worlds are at their thinnest. Fairies come back into the warming world, led by their queen on a white horse and bring with them plenty of magic and mischief. Rowan branches on the windowsill are a traditional protection against their antics.

Monday, April 30, 2012

What I'm Reading: Breaking the Rules, by Suzanne Brockmann; From the Ashes, by Jeremy Burns (Nook)

Okay, so the picture doesn't exactly evoke "series", although Robert Crais writes series, and so do I. Which hardly puts us in the same league. But he was on the series panel, and I was in the audience, so the picture sort of fits. Kind of. If you stretch the imagination. But he's easy on the eyes, so what the heck. It IS my blog, after all.

I'm trying to mix up the workshop topics so there's something for everyone. I'll still have more on publishing, and that 1875 forensics post, so keep coming back. And I'll mention again that Blogger is still not publishing my posts on schedule, so until they fix it (or I take the blog elsewhere), please bear with me if things show up later than usual. Much as I love you guys, getting up at 5 AM to hit "publish" isn't appealing.

I was especially interested in the panel on writing series. The authors on the panel were Carrie Vaughn, Jeffery Deaver, Joe Lansdale and Robert Crais.

These authors didn't set out to write series when they started. Like so many of us, they just wanted to get a book published. Crais confessed that in his outline (cringe!), he had planned to kill off Joe Pike, but when it came time to write the scene, he couldn't do it. And he's very glad he couldn't.

Friday, April 27, 2012

While I was busy with workshops at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference, Hubster went hiking in nearby Waldo Canyon. And I though when he'd said he wanted to come to the conference with me to do "Springs Things", I though he was talking about Costco or other places to stock up on things we can't find in Divide. But he did get pictures. Probably more than one Friday's worth.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

What I'm reading: Free Fire, by C.J. Box; The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot (book club)

Continuing with workshop recaps from the Pikes Peak Writers Conference.

There were two workshops on forensics, both given by retired forensics expert, Tom Adair. (And, he's going to be my guest on May 8th). Both were "hands on" which made a great change from sitting and taking notes.

The first was about fingerprinting. (And although the workshop was hands on, he did begin with some facts.)

Fingerprints are unique and permanent (with very few exceptions, such as burns. They're established in the second trimester, pre-birth. In addition to fingerprints, all dermal ridge prints are unique to the individual (feet, toes, palms, etc.)

Contrary to what we might believe from television, prints are NOT everywhere. And, not finding someone's prints on an object doesn't mean the person didn't touch it. Finger marks are more common, but they're not usable for identification. Probably fewer than 10% of fingerprints found at a crime scene are identifiable to someone. It's not likely you'll get prints from bullet casings.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Before this week's recipe, I thought I'd mention that ROOTED IN DANGERis available for pre-order. I'm also giving away a copy through Goodreads (link is the same as above). Note: If you pre-order the book through Amazon or Barnes & Noble, the actual 'release' date is an approximation. They'll be filling orders, but might not have the book in stock on that exact date. They'll send you an email telling you it's delayed and they'll also give you the option of cancelling your order. Please don't. It'll get to you. And if you have a library card, you can ask your library to order the book. That gives you a free read and keeps the publisher happy. If you need to provide it, the ISBN is 978-1-4328-2585-0

And, onto the recipe!

I was looking for something to do with the extra bunch of radishes I bought for Passover, and found this recipe. Yummy. And quick.

Instructions:
In a small bowl, mix lime juice and sugar.
In a medium bowl, combine cucumbers and radishes. (I sliced everything in the food processor) Pour dressing over. Mix gently. Sprinkle raisins on top. (I just mixed them all in together). Let the mixture stand for a while for flavors to combine. Recipe said to serve at room temperature, but leftovers are fine chilled.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Today my guest at Terry's Place is Karen McCullough. Karen is the author of ten mystery, paranormal, fantasy, and romance novels. Her hardcover mystery, A Gift for Murder, will be released in mass market paperback in June from Harlequin's Worldwide Mystery imprint; several of her novels are now available in Kindle, Nook and other formats from Smashwords.

According to science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” I’ve always been fascinated by that suggestion. It doesn’t take much imagination to figure out why that’s true, and we’ve seen it in action often enough when more technologically developed cultures first come into contact with more primitive ones.

The truth is that for most of us a lot of the technology we use today seems almost impossible. As a former computer programmer and IT person, I’ve taken apart and put back together my share of computers, but in fact my iPhone still seems a big magical to me.

A riff on that idea formed the basis of my book, Magic, Murder and Microcircuits.

If an advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, why couldn’t what we call magic now actually be a technology that we don’t really understand?

Monday, April 23, 2012

I'm writing this shortly after walking in the door from the Pikes Peak Writers Conference. It, like all conferences, was exhausting, but in a good way. I'll be recapping the highlights. And, apologies in advance, but Blogger has had an issue with posts going up when they're scheduled in advance. Much as I love you all, I'm not getting up in the wee hours to keep to my normal posting schedule. If this hasn't posted when I get up, I'll do it manually, but bear with me for any deviations from my normal posting time. Not only that, but they've changed their interface, so there's yet another learning curve for me. I'm thinking I'll be over at WordPress before too long.)

First, for anyone interested, dinner with Robert Crais was FANTASTIC. I have no clue what I ate, but the conversation was a delight (as was the wine). I know I'm a writer, and consider myself a 'regular' person, but even so, there's something "larger than life" that kicks in when meeting a REAL writer. But he's a 'regular' person, too. At his keynote address, he shared emails from readers who took him to task on everything from grammar to accusing him of padding his books by having blank pages between chapters.

Over the course of the conference, I attended 3 workshops on the publishing industry, and it was also a frequent topic of discussion over meals, and from keynote speakers. I'm going to hit the highlights rather than recap each individual workshop.

Mark Coker, CEO of Smashwords, spoke not only about his publishing company, but also about publishing in general.

Until recently, you weren't considered a "real" author unless a big-name publisher bought your book. With e-publishing, it's possible to succeed on your own, and perhaps make more money. But don't count on it. If that's why you're writing, you're setting yourself up for disappointment.

The most important part of success in publishing is: WRITE A GOOD BOOK. (And this includes making sure it's well-edited.)